Georgia Tech School of Music Presents:
Strum Und Drang
Georgia Tech School of Music Presents:
Strum Und Drang
Sunday, November 14, 2021
3:00pm
Ferst Center for the Arts
Chaowen Ting, Conductor
Program
Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra
Fanfare pour précéder “La Péri" (1912) |
Paul Dukas
(1865-1935)
|
Altogether Thunder (2016) Georgia Premiere |
Emily Cooley
(b. 1990)
|
Strum (2006) |
Jessie Montgomery
(b. 1981)
|
Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90 (1883) I. Allegro con brio II. Andante III. Poco allegretto IV. Allegro – Un poco sostenuto |
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
|
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Program Notes - Altogether Thunder
Having not been to Louisville prior to the premiere of this piece, I have heard about but not experience the spectacle of “Thunder Over Louisville”. The pictures and videos I have seen are awe-inspiring, and imagining firework displays was my programmatic inspiration for the piece. Also, in reflecting on the word “thunder,” I couldn’t help by think of my favorite lines from the R.E.M. song “Sweetness Follows”. The title is taken from those lines:
It’s these little things they can pull you under / live your life filled with joy and wonder /
I always knew this altogether thunder / was lost in our little lives
Program Notes - Strum
Strum is the culminating result of several versions of a string quintet I wrote in 2006. It was originally written for the Providence String Quartet and guests of Community MusicWorks Players, then arranged for string quartet in 2008 with several small revisions. In 2012 the piece underwent its final revisions with a rewrite of both the introduction and the ending for the Catalyst Quartet in a performance celebrating the 15th annual Sphinx Competition.
Originally conceived for the formation of a cello quintet, the voicing is often spread wide over the ensemble, giving the music an expansive quality of sound. Within Strum I utilized texture motives, layers of rhythmic or harmonic ostinati that string together to form a bed of sound for melodies to weave in and out. The strumming pizzicato serves as a texture motive and the primary driving rhythmic underpinning of the piece. Drawing onAmerican folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement, the piece has a kind of narrative that begins with fleeting nostalgia and transforms into ecstatic celebration.
Emily Cooley
Composer
Emily Cooley is a Philadelphia-based composer of orchestral, chamber, and vocal music whose work has been described as “masterfully written and orchestrated” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) and “a beautiful delicacy” (Vermont Today). Frequently in dialogue with works of contemporary fiction and critical theory, her music questions conventions of narrative, re-imagines emotional expression, and explores the dynamics of power and vulnerability.
Cooley's orchestral music has been performed by the Nashville, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Louisville, Milwaukee, Berkeley, Sioux City, and Eastern Connecticut symphony orchestras; the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra; and numerous university and conservatory orchestras. Also active as a concert producer and curator, Cooley is a founding member and the current publicity director for Kettle Corn New Music, which produces a year-round series of new music concerts in New York City.
Born in 1990 in Milwaukee, WI, Cooley holds degrees from Yale University, the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music. She has been in residence at
Yaddo, Copland House, and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute; and she is a recipient of the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the ASCAP Morton Gould Award. Her mentors include John K. Boyle, Kathryn Alexander, Andrew Norman, Stephen Hartke, Jennifer Higdon, David Ludwig, and Mary Javian.
[Photo credit to Ali Doucette]
Jessie Montgomery
Composer
Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, language, and social justice, placing her squarely as one of the most relevant interpreters of 21st-century American sound and experience. Her profoundly felt works have been described as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (The Washington Post).
Jessie was born and raised in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 1980s during a time when the neighborhood was at a major turning point in its history. Artists gravitated to the hotbed of artistic experimentation and community development. Her parents –her father a musician, her mother a theater artist and storyteller –were engaged in the activities of the neighborhood and regularly brought Jessie to rallies, performances, and parties where neighbors, activists, and artists gathered to celebrate and support the movements of the time. It is from this unique experience that Jessie has created a life that merges composing, performance, education, and advocacy.
Her growing body of work includes solo, chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. Jessie’s teachers and mentors include Sally Thomas, Ann Setzer, Alice Kanack, Joan Tower, Derek Bermel, Mark Suozzo, Ira Newborn, and Laura Kaminsky. She holds degrees from the Juilliard School and New York University and is currently a Graduate Fellow in Music Composition at Princeton University.
For Jessie’s full bio, see https://www.jessiemontgomery.com/biography.
Ensemble Members
Violin I
Elliott Chen, Concertmaster | Computer Science, 1st year |
Hannah Lee, Assistant Concertmaster | Computer Science, 1st year |
Raymond Jia | Computer Engineering, 3rd year |
Mustafa Hussain | Computer Science, 4th year |
Felix Pei | Electrical Engineering, 3rd year |
Nikhil Damani | Computer Engineering, 4th year |
Kenneth Mo | Computer Science, 1st year |
Andy Mund | Architecture, 3rd year |
Jennifer Deng | Computer Science, 2nd year |
Banglue Wei | Aerospace Engineering, 1st year |
Violin II
Alexander Shih, Principal | Mechanical Engineering, 3rd year |
Kevin Li | Electrical Engineering, 3rd year |
Emily Primmer | Biology, 2nd year |
Harold Graney Green | Neuroscience, 2nd year |
Madison Park | Mechanical Engineering, 1st year |
Jerry Xiong | Computer Science, 1st year |
Joann Ching | Music Technology, 1st year masters |
Subrahmanyam Mullangi | Computer Science, 1st year |
Viola
Ivy Xue, Principal | Neuroscience, 2nd year |
Richard Weng | Mechanical Engineering, 1st year |
Michelle Wang | Computer Science, 2nd year |
Emma Axelson | Civil Engineering/Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies German, 4th year |
Emily Liu | Aerospace Engineering, 3rd year |
Micah Lingle | Computer Science, 2nd year |
Cello
Sergey Blinov, Principal | Physics, 1st year |
Peter Gardner | Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 2nd year |
Eric Chen | Economics, 1st year |
Ilana Hilley | Music Technology, 1st year |
Benjamin Borthwick | Computer Science, 1st year |
Matthew Zhou | Computer Science, 1st year |
Rishul Ravi | Materials Science and Engineering, 4th year |
Nat Wertz | Computer Science, 2nd year |
Bass
Eric Shute, Principal | Mechanical Engineering, 3rd year |
Flute
Pooja Manekar ^ | Biomedical Engineering, 1st year |
Allison Wang * | Business Administration, 1st year |
Oboe
Colin Li ^ | Mechanical Engineering, 2nd year |
Anthony Otlowski * | Aerospace Engineering, 1st year |
Clarinet
David Liu ^ | Computer Science, 1st year |
Katherine Shen * | Aerospace Engineering, 2nd year |
Bassoon
Derek Rizzi ^ | Civil Engineering, 4th year |
Lixin Zheng * | Mathematics, 2nd year |
Horn
Kate Blake | Electrical Engineering, 3rd year |
Alex Bendeck | Computer Science, 1st year PhD |
Matthew Reingold * | Materials Science and Engineering, 3rd year |
Isaac Tomblin ^ | Computer Science, 4th year |
Trumpet
Daniel Hudadoff * | Electrical Engineering, 4th year |
Matthew Liu ^ | Civil Engineering, 3rd year |
Richard Still | Mechanical Engineering, 5th year |
Trombone
Michael Krausz *^ | Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 1st year |
Justin Zandstra | Mathematics, 3rd year |
Eli Corley | Computer Engineering, 1st year |
Tuba
Alejando Martinez | Physics, 1st year |
Timpani/Percussion
Ben Mayton | Music Technology, 3rd year |
Denotes principal player: *Cooley, ^Brahms
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Georgia Tech School of Music
Through interdisciplinary degree programs, outstanding performance ensembles, and innovative research endeavors, the Georgia Tech School of Music cultivates a rich legacy of musical traditions and develops cutting-edge technologies to help define music's future. The School serves students in bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in music technology and offers innovative performance opportunities, courses, and cultural and artistic experiences for students throughout the Institute.